So, the new Springsteen disc is amazing. There's enough of a mixture of his upbeat rockers, his ballads, and his message songs to make this his best record since The Rising. And speaking of that record...
Buying The Boss the day it comes out always takes me back to a specific moment in life. It was July 30th, 2002, the year after 9/11, the year after someone on the streets of New York told Springsteen "we need you now." I had driven to Oshkosh, WI to visit some friends, when I remembered that Springsteen's disc was scheduled to come out that day. I drove downtown to The Exclusive Company, but had to park a few blocks back. At the time, there wasn't much going on downtown, but when I got out of the car, I could hear this music coming from up the block somewhere. The closer I got to Exclusive, the more it began to dawn on me, they had set up a giant set of speakers in their upstairs windows, and were blasting the new album out into the streets.
I wasn't old enough to have witnessed any of the "Bossmania" that had come before, but I really feel like that day was my chance to taste just a little bit of what it had been like. It's a memory I carry with me, and it ties in with those times, and with the redemptive and healing powers of music.
I felt a touch of that day when I got into the car this morning, cranked the window down and the music up, and drove out of the parking lot in the sunshine, with "We Take Care Of Our Own" blasting.
As for the rest of the day... I worked on some songs, and made a bit of progress, I watched the documentary for Darkness On The Edge Of Town, I practiced a bit (but not as much as I would have liked to). About the only thing that didn't get accomplished today that I had wanted to get done going into the day was the Matthew Sweet listening, but considering it was a Springsteen day, that's okay, I think. Besides, it gives me something to focus on tomorrow.
Buying The Boss the day it comes out always takes me back to a specific moment in life. It was July 30th, 2002, the year after 9/11, the year after someone on the streets of New York told Springsteen "we need you now." I had driven to Oshkosh, WI to visit some friends, when I remembered that Springsteen's disc was scheduled to come out that day. I drove downtown to The Exclusive Company, but had to park a few blocks back. At the time, there wasn't much going on downtown, but when I got out of the car, I could hear this music coming from up the block somewhere. The closer I got to Exclusive, the more it began to dawn on me, they had set up a giant set of speakers in their upstairs windows, and were blasting the new album out into the streets.
I wasn't old enough to have witnessed any of the "Bossmania" that had come before, but I really feel like that day was my chance to taste just a little bit of what it had been like. It's a memory I carry with me, and it ties in with those times, and with the redemptive and healing powers of music.
I felt a touch of that day when I got into the car this morning, cranked the window down and the music up, and drove out of the parking lot in the sunshine, with "We Take Care Of Our Own" blasting.
As for the rest of the day... I worked on some songs, and made a bit of progress, I watched the documentary for Darkness On The Edge Of Town, I practiced a bit (but not as much as I would have liked to). About the only thing that didn't get accomplished today that I had wanted to get done going into the day was the Matthew Sweet listening, but considering it was a Springsteen day, that's okay, I think. Besides, it gives me something to focus on tomorrow.
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